MIFF 2025 Film Review - The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo

Images courtesy of Common State.

There is something inherently threatening about femininity. The performance of femininity is graceful and alluring, making you stop in your tracks to take notice. It can also make the voyeur feel out of control. Throughout MIFF’s screening of The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, I couldn’t take my eyes off the beautiful trans women on screen — and neither could the men depicted in this harrowing yet funny film.

Set in 1983, during the height of the HIV and AIDS crisis, a young orphan girl named Lidia (Tamara Cortés) lives in a community of trans women. These women live together in a mining town outside of the Chilean city centre. The town is so isolated from the outside world that the inhabitants believe falling in love, or staring into the eyes of a transgender woman (or gay man), will give them “the plague” (AIDS).

Throughout Diego Céspedes’ directorial debut, there is a dance between transphobia and intense sexual obsession. The men in the community loathe the trans women, but at the same time are intensely attracted to them. It’s a dangerous dynamic because it keeps the women trapped, hoping for love and affection, but on occasion experiencing horrific violence. 

For Lidia’s surrogate mother, Flamingo (Matías Catalán), it’s the latter. Early in the film, we are introduced to Yovani (Pedro Muñoz), an intoxicated and unruly man who is in love with Flamingo. But like Flamingo, they both have early signs of “the plague”. Behind Yovani’s eyes, you see the pain of being so deeply in love, yet so equally full of hatred. In the end, it’s hatred that wins over love in one of the most gut-wrenching scenes of cinema I’ve ever witnessed.

What Céspedes does so exceptionally well in this film is showcase the dark reality of transphobia, while offering a fantastical alternative. This alternate reality, where trans women can be accepted in society, is portrayed through the story arc of Mama Boa. Unlike Flamingo, Mama Boa experiences true love and acceptance from one of the miners. However, it’s this storyline that blurs the lines between reality and fantasy. 

In one of The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo’s funniest scenes, the miners descend onto the transgender commune ready to force them into submission. Carrying blindfolds, they cover the women’s eyes so they can’t be affected by their deadly gaze. However, in a hilarious turn of events, the miners allow themselves to be slowly caressed by the blindfolded women — evoking imagery of the sirens in Greek mythology. 

From here, the film slowly descends into absurdity, and I believe it’s intentional. Lidia, being the story’s protagonist, reminds the audience that we are observing The Mysterious Gaze through a child’s POV. While much of the context surrounding this poor mining town is dark, through her eyes, we have hope for a happily ever after. 

In one of the final scenes, the camera frames Lidia sleeping in the back of a car, while each “auntie” says a quiet goodbye. Lidia is at the end of her own hero’s journey, having uncovered her feminine power. We don’t know what fate is awaiting Lidia’s aunties, still battling HIV, but by ending it this way, we still have the child-like hope for a better future. Perhaps a better future for the transgender community in 2025 and beyond.

Follow Saskia on Instagram.

The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo screened as part of the 2025 Melbourne International Film Festival. For more info, click here.